Woman dragged and hit by car in Richland parking lot during botched fentanyl deal

A woman’s left foot was broken as she was dragged and run over by a car in a Richland parking lot after she tried to buy $160 worth of fentanyl-laced pills.

The alleged drug dealer, Matthew P. Snowden, now is locked up on $50,000 bail for keeping the victim’s cash without handing over the drugs.

The woman said she had jumped in through the open passenger window last Wednesday in an attempt to retrieve her money when she heard Snowden tell the driver to take off, according to court documents.

The top half of her body was inside the sedan as it started to drive away.

Snowden then hit her, causing the woman to fall out of the car, documents said. The car ran over her foot before it left.

Snowden, 36, was arrested the following day on suspicion of first-degree robbery. His arrest came after he appeared in adult drug court on a year-old Franklin County case involving four felony drug charges.

Richland police were called at 3:14 p.m. Aug. 26 about a disturbance in the WinCo Foods parking lot on Columbia Point Drive.

Several callers told 911 dispatchers that a woman was dragged by a dark sedan and run over, then left behind.

Officers arrived to find the woman with cuts on her legs from being dragged along the pavement, and a swollen left foot with black marks from the tire tread, court documents show.

She was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center, where an X-ray found several broken bones in the foot.

The victim told a Richland detective that she had been in the parking lot to buy fentanyl-laced pills, or “Mexis,” from Snowden. She said she had known Snowden for about one month and previously purchased pills from him, documents said.

She had arranged the meeting on Tuesday, and went to the designated location at 3 p.m. Wednesday and sent Snowden a text message.

When Snowden arrived, he was in the front passenger seat of the 4-door sedan, the victim reported.

She described the driver as a younger man who wore glasses, and had tattoos on his face and arms and two lip piercings, court documents said.

The woman said she handed Snowden the cash and he said, “Thanks,” then instructed the driver to leave, documents said. She said she tried to get it back by jumping in through the window, but was pushed out.